December 20, 2014
I Am, You Are (Blue Christmas 2014) by Kate Kenning SteerI am; yet what I am none cares or knows; My friends forsake me like a memory lost; I am the self-consumer of my woes: They rise and vanish in oblivious host, Like shades in love and death’s oblivion lost; And yet I am, and live with shadows tost Into the nothingness of scorn and noise, Into the living sea of waking dreams, Where there is neither sense of life nor joys, But the vast shipwreck of my life’s esteems …

From ‘I Am’Written in The Asylum, Northampton John Clare (1793-1864)Blue Christmas is a feast for those for whom the longest night of the year might hold some particular emotional or physical significance; a feast for those for whom darkness is perpetually threatening to overwhelm the light; a feast for those for whom the phrase ‘the dark night of the soul’ holds a special resonance; it is a feast for all those who find themselves unable to celebrate.It is a feast to welcome in the unwelcomed.In the la…

This weekend I
watched two movies, The
Giver and Coco
Chanel and Igor Stravinsky. I found some common themes in them.

First, as always, the book version of The Giver is better than
the movie. That being said, the movie is a fairly faithful adaptation. And if
you are trying to quit smoking, do NOT watch Coco
and Igor. Just. Don't.

I have a personal bias in favour of Lois Lowry's book, I must confess. I read it to my kids and I taught it for some years. I was particularly impressed that when I emailed the author with a question, she replied personally and in depth. ('Like!') I think the book is valuable on many levels and the notion of banning it in many jurisdictions is ludicrous. Okay, off that soap box.... [Sidebar: Meryl, my fave, was
a little less creepy than I had been led to believe by the movie
trailers; I wish the director had exploited her talent a little more there.
Jeff Bridges was also less taciturn than his novel counterpart (again, a
directorial issue?). Ma…

I saw two things of note this week. The movie Miraculum and a moment in Season 1, Episode 5 of the TV show The Killing (available on Netflix). I'm not making connections, just recos (which I use for the word 'recommendations' on this blog).

One of my favourite pastimes is watching foreign, especially French, movies, and although I was bilingual il y a longtemps, I confess to using subtitles now. Usually I go for the dramatic types of films. Miraculum certainly delivered. (Ignore the bad reviews on imdb BTW.)

You can call it a religious
film or you can call it an anti-religious film, but ça ne fait rien. It is slow-building, but I got sucked into the beauty of its
starkness, be it in the airport, the Kingdom Hall, or the lonely houses. Being a
minimalist aesthetically, I liked the silences, the characters’ contemplations
and the crap weather, which wove together to create a good ol’ depressing mood.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced, happy ending diversion, keep on walking.
…

Hello, fellow artsies! I'm pleased to be starting up this blog again after a few years of radio silence. I'll continue to focus on the arts, and will also be doing some reviews of new books and other items of interest. I look forward to re-connecting! Meanwhile, I offer up my advent gift to you ...